Look
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| Look, in the "Kokusan kamera no erabikata" (國産カメラの選び方) ARS, 1949. P.155. (Image rights) |
The Look is a 35mm rangefinder camera made in Japan for a short time in the late 1940s. It has the general look of a Leica, but differs in some features.[1] Most noticeably, the rangefinder is coupled by direct gearing; teeth on the periphery of the lens barrel meshed via an intermediate wheel with teeth on the front lens of the rangefinder.
The rangefinder is in a superstructure on the top housing, and has a separate eyepiece from the viewfinder. There is a hot shoe on the top. The winding knob, with mechanical frame-counter, is like that of a Leica, and the camera loads by removing the bottom plate. The example seen at auction differs slightly from the one illustrated here. The lens, apparently fixed, is a 45mm f/3.5 Lunar (not a 50mm as offered in the illustration), stopping down to f/16. Both the focus and aperture scales are engraved on the bottom of the lens barrel and mount. The shutter speed is set with a knob on the front, like the slow-speed control on some Leicas, but to the left of the lens. Whereas the illustration here offers shutter speeds between 1/10 and 1/200 second, the auction example cited appears to have speeds between 1/2 and 1/150 second.
There is a circular cover in the back, whose purpose is unclear.
Notes
- ↑ Look 'Model A', serial no.1399, sold at the 31st Westlicht Photographica Auction, in June 2017.
Bibliography
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Item 3359.
- SAKURAI Minoru (櫻井實) "Kokusan kamera no erabikata" (國産カメラの選び方; 'How to choose a domestic camera') ARS, 1949. P.155.
Links
In English:
- The Look is mentioned in a page about the Elega-35 in Nekosan's website (archived)
In Japanese:
